D.C.'s bid to be the capital of women's sports
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Trinity Rodman and Kiki Iriafen. Photos: Amanda Loman/NWSL via Getty Images and Marcin Golba/NurPhoto via Getty Images
This father of an almost-2-year-old girl wonders if it's time to change our TV from Ms. Rachel to Ms. Kiki and Ms. Trin.
Why it matters: The Mystics and Spirit might be Washington's only major pro teams to make the playoffs this year.
The big picture: The Capitals and Wizards missed. The Nats are rounding third on a seventh straight losing season.
- The Commanders are 0-2 with their quarterback on the shelf. D.C. United is on the outside looking in.
- The women are pulling most of the weight in the District. And in my household.
Driving the news: The Mystics and Spirit are teaming up this week for Capital Queens, a celebration of D.C. as the "Capital of Women's Sports."
They said it: "Washington, D.C., has always been the Capital of Women's Sports," Mystics chief business officer Alycen McAuley said.
So, does D.C. have the receipts?
Reality check: There's no clean way to rank women's sports cities, and Washington has plenty of competition.
- Portland makes women's sports culture part of its identity (sip a Title IX cocktail at The Sports Bra).
- Seattle and Minneapolis are home to four-time WNBA champions.
- New York turns women's sports into a spectacle — from the Liberty to the U.S. Open.
- Los Angeles has more star power on its college campuses than some cities do on pro rosters.
Washington's case: It's well-rounded.
- The Mystics are a WNBA institution and have led the league in attendance eight times.
- The Spirit have reached four NWSL finals, winning in 2021, and employ the league's biggest star, Trinity Rodman.
- University of Maryland's women's programs are perennially strong, Georgetown soccer is a power, and the DMV produces elite prep teams in lacrosse, field hockey and basketball.
- Some of the world's fastest swimmers come from our backyard.
Plus: In 2027, a pro volleyball team will take Flight at the Anthem.
The fans show up, too: Washingtonians can fill an arena on the right night. A Mystics game at Capital One Arena in 2024 set a record, since broken, with 20,711 fans (Caitlin Clark helped).
- This year, 17,228 packed the building for a women's hockey game — and D.C. doesn't even have a PWHL team.
Yes, but: The Mystics usually play at 4,200-seat CareFirst Arena, leaving them last in WNBA attendance this season.
What's ahead: Thursday offers a test. The Mystics' regular season finale will be their lone game this year at Capital One Arena.
- They're facing a Chicago Sky team without the kind of star power to juice attendance, so the draw is a young Mystics squad led by Shakira Austin, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen.
The bottom line: There's no objective way to crown America's women's sports capital.
- But I want to raise a girl in a city celebrated for its women's sports. So plant a yard sign with me in support of D.C.